Chapter 9

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Jifeng tilted his head slightly, frowned slightly, and said, "I will let you see the original, but that must be after you have organized a professional legal team and are confident that you can help me win this war. Yes, in my view, the South Korean government will not willingly return Jeju Island to me, so this is a war, a war that might even involve bloodshed."

Patna's hand, holding the photocopy, trembled slightly, still not fully recovered from the shock. Hearing Jifeng's words, he walked a few steps back and forth in the meeting room, then stopped and turned to look at Jifeng, saying, "Alright, if you can guarantee that this is real, our Shida has a 50% chance of helping you get it back. If you are willing to pay a higher price, we have an 80% chance, as this will require mobilizing all our resources, not just legal fees. I believe any law firm you approach will not just charge legal fees."

Jifeng frowned slightly and asked, "For example?"

Patna's heart pounded, a feeling he hadn't experienced since he first started practicing. The case in front of him was so massive that if it were to leak, it would attract worldwide attention.

"For example, we may need to hire some mercenaries to ensure everyone's safety. Making South Korea cede such a large area of territory, even with solid evidence in our hands, they will not willingly do so. Assassinations and conflicts are almost inevitable."

"Also, we need the support of various countries' governments, which will also require a certain cost. I believe you understand that governments are not just about money. Of course, if you entrust this to us at Shida, we have absolute confidence in helping you get it back, but you will not be able to get it all back, or full ownership. For example, you may need to make some concessions in certain areas, such as taxes or other matters. This is what the governments of various countries hope for."

Jifeng frowned slightly and said, "Ms. Patna, please first assemble the team I need. I need at least five senior partners, at least three of whom must be genuine Americans. Once your team is in place, we can discuss the price I need to pay, but please don't be too greedy. After all, this is a legacy left by my great-grandfather, and I want to get it back intact, not in a broken or flawed state. Lastly, I need you to keep my identity confidential; I don't want to be involved in any disputes, at least not until the matter is resolved."

"Of course, Mr. Ji, you can rest assured. Shida is the most professional globally, and we have never lost a case. We have never leaked any client information." Patna shook hands with Jifeng with a smile, feeling somewhat excited. Encountering such a massive international case in his lifetime was a stroke of luck. Compared to disputes involving a few hundred million dollars, the ownership of an entire Jeju Island was a much bigger deal.

"Mr. Ji, if you don't mind, can I keep this photocopy? I need to convince the board to mobilize all our resources to win this case. I believe the chairman will be very willing to take on your commission." Patna quickly said as he saw Jifeng about to leave.

"Sure, as long as it doesn't leak. Let's meet in a week. I believe your team will be in place by then." After all, Shida was a globally renowned law firm with professional ethics. Besides, it was just a photocopy, and it wouldn't be of much use to them.

"No need for a week, the team can arrive by this Friday. I have absolute confidence that the board will send the best legal team to help you. Perhaps, you should now find an accounting team, such as a professional investment bank, to help you with accurate analysis and judgment." Patna kindly reminded Jifeng.

Jifeng immediately accepted the advice and smiled, "I will do that. I believe I can still persuade those guys."

Back at the hotel, Jifeng took out his laptop and went online to look up the UBS office in Shanghai. However, when he called, he was told that if he wanted to withdraw the deposit from back then, he would have to go to the headquarters in Switzerland.

Thinking about the bearer bonds and share certificates left by his great-grandfather, Jifeng decided to go to Europe, as the biggest ones were all there, especially the British government bonds issued in 1905, which should be worth a fortune by now.

Jifeng had never really taken a good look at the things left by his great-grandfather, so he took the opportunity to enter the divine dragon space.

In the study, he opened the drawer and took out the bonds, counting them. There were only ten million, but this time Jifeng noticed a key in the bag, which looked like it was for a safe.

After searching the rooms he could reach and finding nothing, he suddenly remembered that there was an iron box in the spatial bag. He ran to the hall and picked it up.

With a loud "bang," the iron box, once out of the spatial bag, suddenly expanded to two meters in size. Jifeng, with his immense strength, couldn't even budge it, and its size made it impossible to lift.

Scratching his head, Jifeng looked at the huge iron box, feeling both surprised and amused. It turned out the spatial bag had the ability to shrink objects. Damn, he would have to be more careful when taking things out in the future.

The keyhole on the iron box was not large, but the slender key in his hand fit perfectly. He turned it gently, and with a crisp "click," a crack appeared on the other side of the iron box.

Shaking his head, Jifeng couldn't help but comment on who had made such a safe. It was not only large but also poorly designed. How could such a small key lock it?

However, when Jifeng went around to the side with the crack and tried to pry it open, he realized he was wrong. There were over a dozen solid steel rods, each as thick as a thumb, and corresponding holes on the other side. He tried to move the 20-centimeter-long steel rods, but they wouldn't budge at all.

With some effort, he pushed open the thick, ten-centimeter steel door and was immediately stunned by the golden light inside.

The box was divided into five layers. The bottom two layers were neatly arranged with gold bars, the middle layer was piled with various shining gems and jewelry, and the top two layers were filled with British government bonds.

"Damn, how much is this? Did my great-grandfather encircle all of Britain's bonds back then?"

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Jifeng picked up a stack and examined it. Indeed, it was the same as the British bonds in the file.

Each layer contained dozens of stacks of 30-centimeter-high bonds, and a conservative estimate was that each stack was worth about 100 million. So, it was at least several billion in total.

However, Jifeng was puzzled. He had never heard of the British government issuing so many bonds back then. A few hundred million was already the limit, as money was much more valuable then.

Thinking about the need to quickly gather enough funds, and the risk of the British government not recognizing these bonds one day, he decided to exchange them as soon as possible.

Although this was a mystery, he wouldn't let these bonds go to waste.

He returned to the hotel, bought a dozen suitcases, and went back into the space, sitting on the ground and starting to move and count the bonds.

Jifeng had never imagined he would one day count money until his hands cramped, but with such a massive amount of bonds, it wasn't easy to count them, even though they weren't real money but were more valuable than real money.

As he packed more and more bonds into the suitcases, Jifeng realized that these bonds were purchased by his great-grandfather over 75 years, from 1890 to 1965.

Moreover, they were not just from Britain but also from France, Germany, the United States, and Japan. He even found bonds issued by Chiang Kai-shek, and the amount was not small, totaling 120 million.

If he added them up, even at the original purchase value, these bonds were worth 2 billion pounds. If he exchanged them now, they might be worth many times more.

However, Jifeng was skeptical about whether some of the bonds could be exchanged, such as those issued by Chiang Kai-shek, which were probably no longer recognized.

Wiping the few beads of sweat from his forehead, Jifeng decided not to take the Republic of China bonds out. He casually threw them into the spatial ring on his hand, stood up, and headed to the market. He remembered a stall from the Republic of China era that specialized in bonds and currency. He would exchange them for British bonds there, as the Republic of China was too unreliable.

He exchanged 120 million Republic of China bonds for 34.28 million pounds in bonds, verified the amount, and threw them into the ring.

Jifeng could also exchange all the bonds for cash at the market, but that would amount to several billion dollars, which would likely have a significant impact on the global financial market.

Moreover, these were bonds, and if he exchanged them for cash at the market, he would only get the original value, which would be a significant loss. Jifeng was not so foolish as to choose that option.